CrabbingInTheHood.com

One of the great things about living here in the Pacific Northwest is the abundance of native seafood available at various times of the year, like Dungeness Crab, Oysters, Razor Clams, and Spot Shrimp.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) cleared the way for yet another Razor Clam dig for the end of April and early May at up to five area beaches. These will all be early morning low tide openings. No digging will be allowed on any of the days after Noon.

Be advised that some of the beaches south of Twin Harbors have been closed to vehicular access. Always be sure that you’re driving on packed sand, or trust me, you’ll be packing sand!

Beach openings, along with morning low tides, will be:

• Tuesday, April 27, 6:21 a.m., -1.0 ft.: Long Beach and Twin Harbors only

• Wednesday, April 28, 7:06 a.m., -1.4 ft.: Long Beach and Twin Harbors only

• Thursday, April 29, 7:50 a.m., -1.6 ft.: Long Beach and Twin Harbors only

• Friday, April 30, 8:32 a.m., -1.5 ft.: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks

• Saturday, May 1, 9:15 a.m., -1.0ft.: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch

• Sunday, May 2, 9:58 a.m., -0.7ft.: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch

On May 1st, the Puget Sound’s recreational shrimp season opens. Mark O’Toole, WDFW’s Puget Sound Shrimp Management Biologist, predicts that the 2010 Shrimp season could possibly yield one of the highest catch-per-pot ratios we’ve seen in the past 10 years! Overall, it’s expected that Puget Sound sports fishers will pull approximately 130,000 pounds of spot shrimp out of area waters during the course of the season. Now doesn’t that make your mouth water?

Fishing will be open in the following areas:

• Marine Areas 4 (east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 and 6 (excluding shrimp districts), will open daily beginning May 1 at 7 a.m. The spot shrimp season closes when quota is attained or Sept. 15, whichever comes first.
• Marine Area 6 (Discovery Bay) will be open May 1 and 5 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Area 7 opens May 1 at 7 a.m., and will be open on May 5, 6, 7, 8, 21 and 22. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Areas 8, 9 and 10 will be open May 1 and 5 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Area 11 , from the northern tip of Vashon Island to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, will be open May 1 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) will be open May 1, 5, 8 and 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.
• Marine Area 13 will open daily beginning May 1 at 7 a.m. through May 31.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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April 24th signals Opening Day for the 2010 Lake-Fishing Season here in Washington State where an estimated 300,000 anxious anglers will wet their lines in lakes and ponds stocked with millions of trout by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (or so they say!)

There are times when I’ve had the darnedest luck with catching any fish from freshwater lakes and streams. The WDFW could stock my bathtub at home and I’d still get skunked!

WDFW Inland Fish Program Manager Jim Uehara reports that more than 20.5 million trout will be stocked in lakes and streams for this year’s fishery. This includes fish planted in waters that opened earlier this Spring or are open year-round.

And don’t forget to purchase your new WA freshwater fishing license, valid April 1st 2010 thru March 31st 2011.

To obtain lots of really helpful info, including tips on where the best prospects are to fish, go to:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/release.php?id=apr0510a

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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If you love to dig clams or shuck oysters, you now have greater access to “one of the best  shellfish-growing areas in the state,”  this according to Mr. Greg Combs of the Washington State Department of Health’s Shellfish Program.

A 70-acre stretch of tidelands just south of Dosewallips State Park in Jefferson County had been closed since 1987 because of high bacterial levels. Recent monitoring that was conducted showed that the levels are within acceptable limits, allowing the area to be re-opened.

The specific area open for shellfish harvesting is marked by orange posts, which have been moved farther south to include the new 70-acre growing area reopened by the Department of Health. The area beyond the posts remains closed because of bacterial pollution associated with the Dosewallips River.

In a prepared statement made by Camille Speck, shellfish biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife,  she said “These additional acres offer recreational shellfish harvesters increased opportunity on an excellent oyster and clam beach on Hood Canal. Improvements in water quality are a win-win for the clam and oyster fishery and the environment.”

The beach at Dosewallips state park is open for oysters all year. People may harvest clams from March 1 through Oct. 31.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, ActiveRain, Everyday CK, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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